Fastened joint constructions



April 3, 1962 D. R. KNOWLTON 3,028,184

FASTENED JOINT CONSTRUCTIONS Filed March 17, 1960 IIIIII/IIIIIlLI 6 3a 3 6 f26 m H Fal Invenioa David, R. Knowliaon,

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United States Patent Office 3,028,184 Patented Apr. 3, 1962 3,028,184 FASTENED JOINT CONSTRUCTIONS David R. Knowlton, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United- Carr Fastener Corporation, Cambridge, Mass, a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 17, 1960, Ser. No. 15,613 3 Claims. (Cl. 287-126) This invention relates generally to the construction of furniture and has particular reference to the construction of tubular frame chairs and to a device for retaining a wooden back or seat member on such a tubular frame.

In the construction of certain chairs, the frame is usually formed of cylindrical or tubular elements which are bent to form the seat support, legs, and if required, arms. The backs of this type of chair are usually formed of wood or plastic and provided with openings. An old method of attaching the chair back to its tubular support was to screw a ratchet plate over the opening and then force the support into the opening while engaging the ratchet plate. Naturally, this device was neither self-aligning nor selfretaining.

An object of this invention is to provide a self-aligning means for attachment of a chair back or the like to a tubular frame.

A further object of this invention is to provide a selfretaining means for attachment of a chair back to a tubular frame.

Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious, and will, in part, appear hereinafter.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a tubular chair embodying the features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the fastener;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view of the fastener assembled in an opening in a support showing the fastener in elevation and the support in section;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view, partly in section, taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a tubular frame chair 10 having a pair of back supporting tubular members 12 for support of a wooden or plastic back member 14. The back member 14 extends between the tubular member 12 and is provided with a pair of cylindrical apertures 16 in the lower edge thereof to receive the terminal ends 18 of the tubular member 12. To retain the back member 14 on the tubular member 12, a fastener 20 is provided in each aperture 16 to enter into biting engagement with the tubular members 12.

The fastener 20 comprises a ratchet plate portion 22, a pair of spaced legs 24 and an annular rim 26. The ratchet plate portion 22, selected for illustration, has a flange element 28 and four integral teeth 30 whose edges 32 are arcuate in form as shown in FIG. 2. In integral angular relation with said flange element 28 is the annular rim 26 whose terminal edge 33 is flared away from the axis of said ratchet plate portion 22. A ratchet opening 34 is formed in the area adjacent the flange element 28 with the arcuate edge 32 extending into the said ratchet opening 34 as shown in FIG. 2. The legs 24 are in integral angular relationship with the flange element 28 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 extending away from the flange element 28 substantially in the same direction as the annular rim 26 so that the said rim 26 circumscribes a part of the legs 24 and is in spaced parallel relationship therewith. The extremity 36 of the legs 24 is bent in a direction away from the axis of the ratchet opening 34 and since the said extremity 36 is in the form of an arcu-ate angle, it will be capable of penetrating certain materials.

The legs 24 are also arcu-ate in form, conforming roughly to the circumference of the ratchet opening 34. A support edge 38 of the legs 24, in the form of an obtuse angle, is bent in the same direction as said element 36 and is in angular relationship with said element 36.

To engage the fastener 20 with the back member 14, the covering either of fabric, plastic, etc., is placed on the said back member 14 lapping slightly over the wall of the apertures 16. The legs 24 of the fastener 20 are then pressed toward each other and inserted between the walls of the apertures 16 until the terminal edge 33 of the annular rim 26 abuts a portion of the back member 14 adjacent the aperture 16. The extremities 36 and the support edges 38 of the legs 24 enter into a slight biting engagement with the walls of the aperture 16 retaining the fastener 20 is position. A fastener 20 is then engaged with each of the walls of the apertures 16 depending on the number of tubular members 12 which will be used to support the back member 14. The terminal ends 18 of the tubular members 12 are now passed between the teeth 30 of the ratchet portion 22. The diameter of the tubular member 12 is formed slightly larger than the diameter of the circle formed by the said arcuate edges 32, therefore, the tubular member 12 can be jammed between the edges 32 and will also press against the arcuate portions of the legs 24 forcing the extremities 36 and support edges 38 deep into the walls of the apertures 16. Because of the design of the edges 32 of the ratchet plate portion 22 once the tubular member 12 has been pushed between the said teeth, it cannot be withdrawn without great difliculty. The reason for this is that the edges 32 are in slight angular relationship with the flange element 28 and are pointed slightly in the same direction as the legs 24 and the annular rim 26.

Since certain other obvious modifications may be made in this device without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained herein be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limited sense.

I claim:

1. A fastened joint construction for furniture and the like comprising, in combination, an apertured support of a material that may be penetrated by a prong of a fastener, a fastener member and an elongated member having one end thereof entered into an aperture in said support and held in position in said aperture by said fastener member, said fastener member having an apertured plate portion surrounding said elongated member and having at least one leg portion extending into the aperture in the support and engaged by the elongated member to hold the leg portion against movement away from a wall surrounding the aperture in the support, said leg portion having an outwardly extending portion entered into the material of the apertured support and held in locked engagement therewith by engagement of the elongated member with the leg portion and gripping means adjacent the aperture in said plate portion gripping and holding said elongated member.

2. A fastened joint construction for furniture and the like comprising, in combination, an apertured support of a material that may be penetrated by a prong of a fastener, a fastener member and an elongated member having one end thereof entered into an aperture in said support and held in position in said aperture by said fastener member, said fastener member having an apertured plate portion surrounding said elongated member and having at least one leg portion extending into the aperture in the support and engaged by the elongated member to hold the leg portion against movement away from a wall surrounding the aperture in the support, said leg portion having an outwardly extending portion entered into the material of the apertured support and a second portion extending from said leg portion and both of which portions are held in locked engagement with said support by engagement of the elongated member with the leg portion and gripping means adjacent the aperture in said plate portion gripping and holding said elongated member.

3. A fastened joint construction for furniture and the like comprising, in combination, an apertured support of a material that may be penetrated by a prong of a fastoner, a fastener member and an elongated member having one end thereof entered into an aperture in said support and held in position in said aperture by said fastener member, said fastener member having an apertured plate portion surrounding said elongated member and having at least one leg portion extending into the aperture in the support and engaged by the elongated member to hold the leg portion against movement away from a wall surrounding the aperture in the support, said leg portion having an outwardly extending portion entered into the material of the apertured support and a second portion extending from said leg portion and both of which portions are held in locked engagement with said support by engagement of the elongated member with the leg portion and gripping means adjacent the aperture in said plate portion gripping and holding said elongated member, one of said support engaging portions extending from said leg portion adjacent to a free end thereof and the other support engaging portion extending from a longitudinal edge of said leg portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,503,854 Trainor Apr. 11, 1950 2,610,012 Mackey et al Sept. 9, 1952 2,618,009 Tinnerman Nov. 18, 1952 2,621,947 Markvart Dec. 16, 1952 2,666,943 Kramcsak Jan. 26, 1954 2,670,226 Becker Feb. 23, 1954 

